Such helmets generally comprise an outer shell, for example made of ABS, polycarbonate, etc. or composite material, such as carbon and/or aramid and/or glass fibers, and an inner shell generally foam-made, such as polystyrene. The assembly of such outer and inner shells, the first one fixed to cover the latter, aids to form what hereinafter we generically denote as “shell” and substantially constitute the helmet portion adapted to accommodate the rider's head of a motorcycle or the like. In order to improve the rider's safety and better adapt the inner portion of the shell to the rider's head, usually padding elements are arranged inside the shell.
Typically, such padding elements comprise little cushions or pads, for example made of foam rubber, arranged at the cheeks and chin of the rider wearing the helmet itself. Such devices are usually deformable and, in use, they have a portion engaging the lower portion of the chin.
Such solution increases the user's comfort and safety, but wearing the helmet and removing the head from the helmet become complex. This is a problem, for example, especially when the helmet user has a road accident, and someone aiding the injured rider has to remove the helmet itself. In fact, to carry out such an operation, the rider must apply a high force onto the helmet and then onto the user, thus the health of the injured rider could be compromised. For this reason, removing the helmet from the wearer is very difficult for everyone.
Therefore, helmets having padding elements reversibly constrained to the shell are known, for example by snap-fit buttons.
By removing the padding elements, in particular those placed at the user's chin, the helmet removal from the wearer's head is much simpler. However, the removal operations of the padding element are not simple when the user's head is in the helmet. Moreover, during wearing of the helmet, a certain force is applied against the padding element, so that it is deformed to allow the head to pass. Such force can cause the undesirable detachment of the padding element from the shell, annoying the user.